Five Thoughts After Eagles Training Camp Comes To An End

There was plenty to like about the 16 open practices the Eagles had this summer, and here are five thoughts.

A.J. Brown and a host of Eagles receivers during training camp. / Ed Kracz/Eagles on SI

PHILADELPHIA – Training camp 2024 is over and out.

The Eagles wrapped it up on Wednesday after 16 days of open practices. They did it with a fully-padded session that ran nearly two hours long and featured a brief “live” tackling session with the first team during 11-on-11. Training camp was supposed to run one more day, but head coach Nick Sirianni decided to make Thursday’s session a closed walkthrough to give the players’ bodies time to recover from Wednesday.

Plus, those who will play in the exhibition finale on Saturday when the Minnesota Vikings visit (1 p.m.) need time to let their bodies decompress.

So, that’s it until next summer. Of course, there’s a 17-game season between now and then. Still, summer was fun while it lasted.

Rather than overreact to the ifnal day of camp, here are five thoughts from the summer that was:

The reign of physicality. This camp was different than previous camps under Sirianni. Practices were longer and of higher intensity. Best of all, it was more physical. Center Cam Jurgens said he believes all of the above were because the team isn’t as veteran-oriented as it was the past two years, so all three ingredients were necessary.

“Yeah, it’s been more physical, but that’s good,” said Carter. “Coach Vic (Fangio) loves that physicality, he loves practicing a lot. I think he brought that with him when he came.”

Coordinator comfort. One of the big storylines was how the change in coordinators would impact the team. Camp proved it will be a seamless transition, and both sides of the ball are in a better place now than they were when last year ended.

Defensive players have taken to Vic Fangio’s way of doing things, and Kellen Moore's motion, motion, and more motion have been a refreshing change.

You could say that the offense and defense looked “coordinated” with the two new guys in charge.

Eagles tight end Dallas Goedert / Ed Kracz/Eagles on SI

Mostly good health. The Eagles managed to get through those long and physical practices without a serious injury, though there were some practices with long lists of players sitting out with various bumps and bruises. That said, the final day was concerning for two reasons – Dallas Goedert and Jalyx Hunt.

Both players were listed with oblique injuries, which is a soft tissue injury from the upper ribs to the hips and occurs in overworked muscles. Depending on the severity, oblique injuries can last upwards of three weeks.

Goedert’s value to the offense is obvious. As for Hunt, he should have a role on the defense provided he is able to heal sooner rather than later.

A.J. and DeVonta. A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith were the two best and most consistent players in camp, and what a treat it was to watch the receivers work every day. You could put quarterback Jalen Hurts in here, too, but there aren’t many – if any – better tandem of pass-catchers in the league than these two. Only Tyreek Hill and Jalen Waddle in Miami are in the same conversation.

Now, after those two, the drop-off is significant and there are plenty of teams who have a better one through five than the Eagles, and which receivers belong on this roster after those two and Britain Covey is open for debate, but Brown and Smith make that a minor concern. Unless something bad happens to them, of course.

The young and old. The Eagles have just five players over 30: Brandon Graham, Lane Johnson, Darius Slay, James Bradberry, and Rick Lovato. All of them are solid veterans and had exceptional camps, except for Bradberry who was learning how to play safety and did some very good things but some not so good things as you’d expect.

Then there are the rookies. Each showed they belong. It took Ainais Smith longer than his draft classmates, but he strung together some good reps in the final week. Cornerback Quinyon Mitchell was the most impressive of the group, but not far behind were running back Will Shipley, linebacker Jeremiah Trotter, and offensive lineman Trevor Keegan, who missed the final day of camp with a hip injury.

Receiver Johnny Wilson did some nice things but suffered a concussion during the joint practice against the Patriots, blunting his momentum. Same with Hunt.

Cornerback Cooper DeJean is still working to get back into football shape after missing the first three weeks of camp with a hamstring injury. Dylan McMahon has looked good as a backup center, but there is strong competition there, so we'll see what the Eagles do with him.

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